Game-ball.



No. 790,041. PATENTED MAY 16, 1905. A. BNGLBRTH 6a W. B. EARNEST.

GAMB BALL. APPLIATION :FILED FEB. 3. 1904.

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QW fsfteooco UNITED STATES :Patented May 1e, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT IENGrLERTH AND WILLIAM. B. EARNST, OF AMBLER,

' PENNSYLVANIA.

GAME-BALL.

SPECIFICATION frlmngpart of Letters Patent No. 790,041, dated May 16, 1905.

nppiiaionnedretmmys,1904, seraIN0.191,799,

To all whom, 'it may concern.'

Be it known thatxwe, ALBER'I` ENGLER'III and YWILLIAIVI B. EARNEs'I, citizens of the United posed therebetween, the ends of said sections being secured to said welt through the rbends of said folds, forming a tight joint for the sections.

It also consists in uniting the sections by stitches within the circumference of the ball, so that they do not appear on the exterior of the ball, and thus are not exposed to wear thereat, whereby the life .of the ball is increased.

Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a game-ball embodying our invention. Figs. 2, 3, and 4: represent diametrical sections thereof. Fig. 5 represents a sectional view of the manner of securing the members of the ball.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the iigures.

l Referring to the drawings, A designates a ball consisting of the covering-sections B B, in

'the present case hemispherical, the circular Welt C, of pliable material, and a suitable lilling, the welt occupying an equatorial position on the ball between said sections, said lwelt and sections being secured by stitches D in the end portions of the sections and in the welt, thus holding said portions in abutment with said welt, and vice versa, thus stiffening and strengthening the ball in an equatorial line. The stitches D are within the circumsections are primarily turned in, forming the folds E, and the sections, the iilling or packing, and the welt are assembled, the bends F of the folds contacting with the sides of said welt, while the folds themselves being tucked under lie flat against the contiguous inner faces of the exterior portions of the sections, whereby they are pressed' outwardly by the filling or .packing of the ball and so prevented from opening out, it being noticed that the stitches D traverse the inner sides of the bends of the folds and then pass through said bends and the welt from side to side.

The operation of the manufacture of the ball is as follows: I-Ioles oropenings are made in each bend F of the folds E in the circumferential direction of the same and also transversely through the welt at coincident places. A needle is passed through an opening in the bend-say of the right-hand section-so as to enter between the fold E and the adjacent portion of said section and then out through the adjacent opening in said fold and the thread drawn thereafter through the pair of openings, whereby the thread occupies a position between the fold and said adjacent portion of the section and forms a stitch in circumferential direction inside of said fold. The needle and thread'are then passed transversely, as at D', through the opening in the welt and into the adjacent opening inthe bend-say of the left-hand section-and between the fold and adjacent portion of the left-hand section to the next hole in the latter, thus plac- 'ing a stitch, say, on the left side of the ball `Vwithin the fold and adjacent portion of the left section. q Then athread is introduced into the left section through a pair of openings therein and between the fold and adjacentportion of said section and then across through the welt to the right-hand section and passed through the pair of openings in thebend of the latter and placed between the fold and adjacentportion of the section, after which it is passed through the welt and inserted through a pair of openings in the bend of the left section, and so the operation continues, it being noticed that right and left rows of stitches are formed between the folds and sections B and covered by the bends F, whereby said stitches are concealed and so protected. Furthermore, as the folds are tucked under the inner faces of the sections the bends present rounded surfaces which act as tongues which are seated in the sides of the welt, said sides being grooved in their circular direction, thus causing interlocking of the bends or sections upon the sides of the welt and assisting with the stitches to form cornpact and comparatively immovable joints between the sections and welt. It is evident that in the use of the two threads as they are passed through the welt the opening in the latter may be common to said threads and that when the threads are drawn taut the sections of the covering, and the welt are held compactly together and as the leather, skin, hide, or material of the sections and welt dries and shrinks the stitches are tightened, thus rendering the ball compact, while the stitches are concealed, with the advantages hereinbefore stated. f

The rows of small dots shown in Fig. l are the result of the stitching of the portions of the material of the covering-sections occasioned by the tight draft of the stitches from side to side of said sections through the welt and are not openings as such and do not expose the stitches.

Various changes may be made in the details of construction shown without departing from the general spirit of our invention, and we do not, therefore, desire to be limited in each case to the same.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

In a ball, hemispherieal sections having bent folds inturned under the sides of the seetions, a circular welt of pliable material interposed between the outer face of the bends of said folds and contacting therewith and stitches extending along the inner sides of the bend of the fold of one section, passing through said bend, said welt and the bend of the fold of the opposite section, and along the inner side of the bend of the fold of the latter named section, and again passing through the last-named bend, the welt, the bend of the fold of the opposite section and along the inner side of the last-named bend.

ALBER' EN (gl LER'IH WILLIAM B. EARNEST. Titnessesz JOHN A. finnnnsiinun S. R. CARR. 

